St. Luke Columbus

We all live under the authority of something or someone, whether it be an external authority or interior desires, or possibly a combination of both. The question is, does this authority lead to more life or less? Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We have a whole Sunday devoted to this essential, but kind of confusing, tenant of our faith. What difference does it make when we say God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Trusting that the Spirit continues to guide us into truth, we look at what God’s three-ness tells us about our mysterious, fluid, diverse, communal, hospitable, and loving God.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

When we feel like we’re alone, facing all of life’s challenges, remember that God, the Holy Spirit is already with you, already at work in you, and is for you, not only the share Jesus with the world, but to give you his peace. Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Eventually, after all the preparation, the people of Egypt moved through the river and entered the promised land.  They did so slowly and with intention, following the ark.  Likewise, we move into the future keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader of the church.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

As we peek into the future, we recognize that there are inevitable storms ahead.  In Joshua’s time, Israel sent spies into the promised land and discovered inevitable opposition.  How did they respond?   Courage.  Faith.  Trust.  Partnership   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

The phrase used at Westerville North HS is AllN.  Similarly we are All In   From coaching, I know that it takes every single player to create a win.     We move forward together, united as one, into the future God has prepared for us.  We need all of us, not some of us to make this transition well.     The disciples eventually replaced Judas.  Jesus prayed for our unity.  Together we move ahead.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

The people of Israel were at a transition point in their history.  They had arrived at a new chapter in their history, a place no one had been.  Across the river was the land God had promised.  Moses died and Joshua was chosen to lead the people through the river into a new beginning.   Transitions mean change and change brings stress with it.  Things will not be as they were.  There is an inherent risk in change, in transitions, but there is also beauty as we anticipate what will be.   A new chapter in St. Luke’s history is upon us.  We get to be part of the ongoing story of God for this congregation.  It will be challenging.  Storms await.  We will be ok.  God is doing a new thing.  Do we perceive it? Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Our greatest reality and hope is that, by grace alone, we have been made beloved children of God and inheritors of God’s eternal kingdom. GRACE is the final word I leave with this church family. Grace was the first word that I preached on September 10, 2000, and the final word I left with the family of St. Paul’s Lutheran in Maumee, Ohio on August 20, 2000.   Article IV of the Augsburg Confession on Justification teaches that we cannot be justified before God by our own strength, merits or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake through faith, when we believe that we are received into favor and that our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who by His death has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God accounts as righteousness in His sight. Martin Luther said that this is the article of faith upon which the Church stands or falls. Indeed, the reality of God’s grace in Christ is the hope upon which we stand or fall.   Relentlessly trust that your primary reality and hope is in the grace of God p

Today’s message is shared by Christina ‘Tini’ Horning, Campus Crusade for Christ missionary in Freiburg, Germany. She will talk about what it means to be sent like Jesus and share experiences from her work in Germany.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Our mission to connect people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ is why we exist as a church family. Jesus’ first command to the first person (Mary) who saw him raised from the dead was to “Go and tell.” That is also what Jesus told Peter and the other disciples to do. Becoming a congregation that is foundationally evangelical will mean that we live more for others than ourselves.    Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

The Seven Last Words of Jesus The Word of Forgiveness - “Father, Forgive them for they know not what they do.” The Word of Promise - “Today you shall be with me in paradise.” The Word of Love - “Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!” The Word of Loneliness - “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The Word of Suffering - “I thirst.” The Word of Victory - “It is finished.” The Word of Trust - “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”   Lessons: Luke 23:34, Luke 23:43, John 19:26-27, Matthew 27:46, John 19:28, John 19:30, Luke 23:46   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Maundy Thursday is a night in which we experience a rich continuity with the past.  Paul begins the reading in 1 Corinthians with the statement, “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you…” referring to the passing on of the Lord’s Supper to the believers in Corinth.  Jesus gave the supper to us, and we in turn give it to the next generation.  We share in an experience of God’s grace that has been experienced for centuries.     Jesus says a similar thing about washing feet, “I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”  We are, in loving service, called to serve others as Christ serves us.   Tonight we receive and are invited to share with the next generation the incredible, unconditional grace of God found in Jesus Christ.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

What draws you to worship?  On Palm Sunday we read about the crowds who worshiped Jesus as the coming Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Like a moth drawn to a flame, the crowds were drawn to Jesus.  Throughout the Gospels, they followed Jesus from place to place.  He had something they needed, something no one else could give.   Are we the same?  Are we drawn to worship Jesus as well?  If so, why?  What is it for you that draws you to worship Jesus as Lord?   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

In our day, it is a primary mission of the evil one to divide a congregation, just like he has divided the Church in the past. When a congregation is divided, lives are wrecked and the mission is severely crippled.  St. Luke has many differences within our family over politics, economics, human sexuality, gender identity and roles, leadership, worship styles, and more. While we should never dismiss these because they are very important to each other, they should not divide us nor motivate any of us to walk away from our St. Luke family. Remaining united in the body of Christ was a top priority in the teaching of the Apostle Paul, second only to the Gospel of Jesus. We stay united when we affirm as of greatest importance the essential beliefs and mission that we hold in common.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Often it is said that our children are our future. While that is true, it is more helpful to understand that reaching the next generation with the gospel is a primary responsibility that God has for us. The trends currently look very bleak, but by relentlessly structuring and resourcing the St. Luke mission to effectively reach the next generation, this family of faith can turn the tide within our congregation and our surrounding community.     Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Jesus has strong words, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  That is the change we need to make.  But, what changes does God make on our behalf?  God is like the vineyard owner who patiently tends to us, even when we don’t bear fruit.  When the world around us finds us useless, God in his mercy, tends to us so that we might bear fruit to the world around us.     Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We often find Jesus in the most unexpected places. We find Jesus walking the gauntlet in the covenant ceremony recorded in Genesis 17. In the gospel narratives, we find Jesus brooding over God’s people like a mother hen, with the little, least, last, lost, and dead, and on the cross. No matter where we find Jesus, it is good news for everyone. In our lives, Jesus shows up in unexpected places – where we need him the most.    Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We all want certain things in life and out of life.  Some of us want more adventure, authority, or attention.  But do we want more of God?  Do we desire to deepen our faith?  Do these make the list?  This week we’ll explore how Jesus was tempted to get more out of life, but instead, he opted to get more from God the Father.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We must utterly despair of our own ability before we are prepared to receive the grace of Christ. Luther wrote, “The thirst for glory is not ended by satisfying it but rather by extinguishing it.” This is the cross story that stands in direct opposition to the glory story that is our default view of ourselves. Forde writes, “The most common overarching story we tell about ourselves is what we will call the glory story. We came from glory and are bound for glory.” BUT, “Our story is not that of the exit from and return to glory of an undying soul. The cross destroys all that.” All of our schemes for gaining the glory we imagine that lost come to an end at the cross of Christ. They are ashes - for we are dust and to dust we shall return. Our only hope is that when we die with Christ, we will also live with Christ. (2 Timothy 2:11)   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

In our world today there is so much out of our control. If we focus on those situations and people beyond our control, we will end up frustrated and anxious. When we stay focused on what we can control, we can respond to life with peace and self-confidence. Jesus stayed focused on what he could control and the mission God had him on despite the swirling political and social pressures of his day.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website